Dive Brief:
- Lowe's announced an online video series to support a new line of NFL-themed products, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The show, "NFL Homegating Makeovers by Lowe's," is aimed at giving fans tips on how to trick their homes out for "homegating" activities around football season.
- The retailer partnered with three NFL teams — the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles — along with YouTube DIYer Monica Mangin on the effort. The series promotes Lowe's more than 10,000 licensed NFL products across categories from tailgating and grilling to garden décor and holiday items, which are sold online and in stores.
- Videos highlight how these products can be incorporated into a home, including in the kitchen, living room and patio. In addition to the NFL sponsorship, Lowe's inked multi-year team deals with the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. As part of the partnerships, the store will host NFL experiences around home games during the season.
Dive Insight:
As the fall kickoff of football season quickly approaches, Lowe's looks to capitalize on its designation as the Official Home Improvement Retail Sponsor of the NFL. Partnering with YouTube DIYers on a digital video series shows how the brand is thinking outside of traditional advertising channels like TV in order to engage its target audience of home improvers who might be looking to add themed merchandise to their stay-at-home tailgating.
The content play extends the retailer's growing focus on working with online influencers in the home improvement space, who have taken center stage in recent branded video efforts and elsewhere. Earlier this year, Lowe's announced a multi-year deal as the official home improvement retail sponsor of the NFL, at the time rolling out a TV campaign aimed at DIYers, according to Ad Age.
While the homegating campaign leans more into digital, including by promoting products available in a dedicated NFL section on Lowes.com, Lowe's partnership with the NFL could generally help to improve awareness.
In January, the NFL revealed that TV ratings for regular season games rose 5% year-on-year to 15.8 million viewers in 2018, with the exception of special London broadcasts. The organization also reported that the average streaming viewership for all games leaped a whopping 86% from 2017.
Lowe's, battered for years in a tough category for growth, has shown signs of turnaround — one that could be bolstered if its NFL marketing connects with fans. The league is entering its 100th season and promoting the occasion heavily, which could drum up additional interest in team merchandise.
Lowe's stock soared Wednesday morning after it beat Wall Street's expectations on key metrics like earnings, revenue and same-store sales, and bested rival Home Depot on same-store sales growth in the U.S., per CNBC.
